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Former student here injured in one-vehicle accident

By Jan SchultzThe Imperial Republican Crista Hudson, 18, who attended classes at Chase County Schools for most of 2007, is recovering in Colorado from serious injuries sustained in a Dec. 1 accident. Hudson, who was a foster child living with the Charley Colton family in Imperial last year, sustained crushed vertebrae and a broken wrist in the one-vehicle accident as she traveled Highway 25 between Atwood, Kan., and Trenton. According to information Carla Colton received, Hudson was alone in the vehicle when she missed a curve, then rolled one and a half times, landing upside down. The accident happened about 2 a.m., but she was not discovered until 7:20 a.m. that morning. Rescue workers had to use Jaws of Life equipment to reach her. She was taken to the Rawlins County Hospital in Atwood, Kan., then air-lifted to Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colo. Hudson has already undergone at least two surgeries, one to implant a plate to stabilize her neck and another to repair the broken wrist. She also suffered from hypothermia as she lay injured in the vehicle for more than five hours, and was dealing with pneumonia. She is conscious, but must use a breathing tube much of the time. It’s expected she will be at the Swedish Medical Center for several weeks until she is more independent. She will then be moved to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, according to Carla Colton. Crista’s mother lives in Trenton, Neb. Cards can reach Crista at Swedish Medical Center, 501 East Hampden Ave., Critical Care Unit Pod B, Room 3141, Englewood CO 80113.